Aftermath
by ChocoboHuntress
Summary: How would you react if you found out your best friend was killed in action?
1. Chapter 1

Aftermath – Chapter One

_Beep._ A new message popped up on the screen.

"_**Personnel Announcement 0210**_

_From: Shinra News_

_This is an official notification of the change _

_in status for the following personnel. _

_**Sephiroth - SOLDIER 1st Class: **_

_ Killed in action _

_**Zack Fair - SOLDIER 1st Class: **_

_ Killed in action _

_ Two infantrymen were also killed in action."_

The recipient, Soldier 2nd Class Kunsel, shut the phone with a sharp _snap._ He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. His best friend, dead? It _had_ been four whole years since he had last heard from Zack.

Still… Sephiroth, too? Something was off. Neither of the 1st Class SOLDIERS would have gone down without a fight. There would have been some sort of commotion or crazy rumors going around, not just a simple message from General Affairs out of nowhere.

Kunsel was the go-to guy about what was happening in Shinra. Not much happened without his knowledge, even some of the more classified missions. No matter how well Shinra was able to cover their tracks, there was _always_ a trail.

A trail that Kunsel was determined to find and follow.

An hour-long search later, Kunsel had managed to pull up only a few fragments of data that remained from missions assigned to Zack. What had not already been deleted by Lazard before he left had likely been destroyed by the Turks.

"Poking around the Director's office again, Kuns?" A voice surprised Kunsel and caused him to jump.

The SOLDIER who spoke pulled off his helmet, revealing his friend, Luxiere. The blond-haired man smoothed out his helmet-rumpled hair and laughed.

"Figured I'd find you here. The poorly-picked lock confirmed my suspicions," Luxiere said. "I assume you got the message about Zack, too?"

Kunsel pulled off his helmet as well, revealing his short brown hair, along with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Yeah, you caught me, Lux. I thought I could find something that could give me a hint as to where Zack is."

"Dude, you tried that before; right when Zack first went missing. What makes you think this time will be any different?" Luxiere asked.

"Because I only tried looking up Zack's and Sephiroth's mission assignments. I didn't try finding any other suspicious activity. I think I've got something, though."

Luxiere cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, count me in. Let's hear it."

Kunsel sat up a little straighter. "Okay, first off, I sent Zack a billion e-mails, but most of them bounced back at me. He probably didn't have cell reception. What kind of places don't get cell reception?"

"The desert? The wastelands?" Luxiere looked dubious.

"Right, but we were all sent to check out Mako reactors. Shinra doesn't have any reactors in those kinds of places. They may be in secluded places, but there's usually at least a small town nearby," Kunsel explained.

"Gongaga, then? The jungle probably has poor reception and Zack is from there. Maybe the sent him because he's familiar with the area?" Luxiere pondered. "Wait, no, that reactor blew up two years ago."

"Correct," Kunsel said. "But no high-ranking SOLDIERS were sent to Gongaga. It was all 3rd-class and cadets. So, where else could they have been sent?"

"Would you quit smirking and just tell me? You clearly have an idea!" Luxiere sputtered.

"Remember when I was telling you about Sephiroth looking for research related to something called 'Project G'? And how a ton of the data was actually kept somewhere other than headquarters?"

"Kind of, sure," Luxiere replied.

"Well, Shinra has laboratories set up in a mansion in Nibelheim. I'll bet that they stored the research there. So, when Sephiroth needed to choose a reactor site to investigate…"

"Of course, he would've used the mission as an excuse to check out the labs and look for the data!" Luxiere exclaimed. "Man, Kuns, you're a friggin' GENIUS."

"Yeah, I know," Kunsel said smugly. "Now…"

"Now, what? We've got to get to Nibelheim and find Zack!"

"Great plan. How do you plan on getting there? We can't exactly walk there. I know you're all about the dramatics, but we could get into deep shit just for looking into this. Never mind the fact that we'd essentially be abandoning Shinra," Kunsel said.

"Right… so, what's the plan?" Luxiere asked.

"Well, I don't much care to stick around Shinra much longer. Honestly, I've been contemplating leaving for a while now. Other than you, I don't have much reason to stay. I'm going after Zack, whether you're coming or not."

Luxiere considered this for a moment. "I like it here at Shinra but, you're right. With Zack gone, the director dead, and the whole place in chaos, it's hardly worth it to be here. Hell, half the SOLDIER program is gone, anyways."

Kunsel stood up from the computer chair. "So, you with me?"

Back at their shared apartment, Kunsel and Luxiere packed up their supplies.

"Remember, Lux, pack light, but make sure you take what you need," Kunsel said. "We may be doing a lot of running, so we don't want too much stuff."

"We'll probably never be able to come back here again. I guess it's a good thing I don't have a ton of personal stuff," Luxiere replied, tucking a picture of his family into a side pocket of his bag.

Kunsel cleared out the medicine cabinet, stuffing his bag full of potions and remedies.

"Got your materia sorted out?" Luxiere asked.

"Eh, good enough," Kunsel shrugged. "You're better with magic, anyways."

"Still, it can't hurt to be prepared. Here," Luxiere said as he tossed him a bracer.

"Cura and Esuna? Decent levels on here, too. Nice one. Thanks, Lux," Kunsel said as he examined the armor. "Here, you take my Blizzaga and Firaga. Like I said, you're better with materia."

Luxiere adjusted the glowing orbs in his armor. "Excellent. Now, what is our mode of transportation?"

Kunsel held up his phone. "Got it covered. You can fly a helicopter, right?"

"Helicopter? How'd you manage that one?" Luxiere asked in disbelief.

"Hacked into the Shinra hangar's computer. Found the list of vehicles needing maintenance and repair. Changed it so we're the ones scheduled for pick-up. She'll be nicely tuned and ready for a long trip."

Luxiere shook his head. "And you're not a Turk because…?"


	2. Chapter 2

Aftermath – Chapter Two

_Two days later_

"We should be coming up on the main gate soon," Luxiere said, pointing at a crudely-drawn map.

Kunsel pointed up ahead. "If you look closely, you can see the smog coming off the reactor towards the top of the mountain."

"Hope the inn is open. I miss sleeping in a real bed," Luxiere said.

Kunsel raised an eyebrow. "It's only been a couple of days."

"A couple of days consisting of a long helicopter ride, a ferry, and a crowded airship trip. None of which had a decent bed!" Luxiere countered.

"Like you even noticed. You were on your phone the whole damn time. What were you doing, anyways?"

Luxiere gave an abashed grin. "I've been trying to reach Zack. I sent him a few e-mails. No response, of course."

Kunsel snatched Luxiere's phone out of his hand and pulled up the messages on the screen. "'… with my newfound authority, I might be able to spare your life'? Seriously!?" Kunsel bonked Luxiere on the head. "Are you a moron? That's the most ridiculous plan ever!"

"It was worth a shot, right?" Luxiere argued.

"I've mailed him, too," Kunsel admitted. "Asked where he was. Told him we'd come get him. Not bring him in as a criminal to forward my own career!" he made his point by punching Luxiere in the shoulder half-jokingly.

Luxiere shrugged. "Maybe it'll make him laugh. I just wish he'd respond."

"Yeah, but he's probably afraid that Shinra will track him if he answers. We can't lose hope just yet," Kunsel said with a shrug, trying to appear nonchalant.

The two walked in silence until they reached the outskirts of the village of Nibelheim.

"It's really quiet. Like a ghost town," Kunsel commented.

"Well, it _is_ four in the morning," Luxiere said.

Kunsel shrugged. "Fair enough," he said as he glanced around. "Hey, let's check out by that water tower. We can eat something real quick and get our bearings."

Luxiere nodded, but before they could reach the tower, Kunsel stopped short. He suddenly took off running and halted right at the base of the ladder leading to the top of the water tower.

"Lux, look! It's an infantryman's helmet! It looks like there was a struggle here."

"Oh man, are those drag marks over there?" Luxiere pointed. Kunsel examined the disturbed ground.

"It can't be Zack that was dragged. This person was smaller. Maybe one of the infantrymen that went with him and Sephiroth on the mission?" he asked.

"Certainly possible. He was sort of friendly with that quiet blond one. Man, what the hell happened to these guys?" Luxiere wondered aloud.

"Zack must be doing okay. He clearly fought off these troops and helped the infantryman. Let's follow the tracks for a bit, then find a place to rest. I'm running on pretty much zero sleep."

Luxiere agreed and they followed the footprints through some brush and into a forest.

"The smaller guy must be sick," Luxiere noted.

"How do you figure?"

"Look at the tracks. The guy isn't walking with a limp, like he's physically injured. Zack seems to be supporting most of his weight and he's barely moving his feet. Hope the kid's okay," Luxiere said.

They reached a small clearing in the woods. Kunsel dropped his backpack on a fallen tree nearby.

"Well, they seem to be doing fine for now, so let's grab some rest for a few hours." When Luxiere looked unsure, Kunsel added, "I want to keep looking as much as you do, Lux, but how can we help Zack if we're half-dead ourselves? Get some sleep and we'll catch up with him."

Luxiere grunted an agreement and settled down on the ground, using his bag as a pillow. Both fell asleep almost instantly.

When the two SOLDIERs awoke, the sun had been up for a few hours already. The men packed up their belongings and began to make their way back to the main path.

"Think Shinra knows we're gone?" Luxiere wondered out loud.

"It's possible. I'm not too sure, though. With everything that's gone down in the past few years, they don't seem to really notice us SOLDIERs much anymore. Word is, they began to lose funding after Sephiroth and Zack didn't return from their mission. With all of the problems with Genesis and AVALANCHE, you'd think that they'd want more of us around. They seem to be relying more heavily on the Turks and just the infantry to take care of matters," Kunsel replied.

"I suppose that's good news for us, then. Less attention drawn to us means we can move around easier. Where are we going, anyways?" Luxiere asked.

"I'm thinking Gongaga. That's where Zack is from. He may try to contact his folks back home."

"Is that wise on his part? If he's running from Shinra, wouldn't that be the first place they'd look?"

Kunsel sighed. "Yeah, but you know Zack. He would want to make sure his parents were okay and not worried about him."

"Still, it's a long way to Gongaga. Will they make it that far?"

Kunsel brightened a little. "We'll just have to find them first and it won't matter!"

Luxiere smiled and agreed. "No sweat. We're both SOLDIER and you might as well be a Turk with all that you know. We can do this."

"Heh. Right. Now, let's find some food. All of this motivation is making me hungry!"

After stocking up on food and supplies in Nibelheim, the men headed back down the mountain trail in the general direction of Gongaga.

"You know, Cosmo Canyon is about halfway between here and Gongaga. Think Zack might stop there?" Kunsel asked.

"Definitely possible. It would be a good spot to restock on supplies, so even if it isn't his end goal, he may still stop there. Besides, aren't there a lot of AVALANCHE members there?"

"Hm. That could go either way, though. Would they hate him for being in SOLDIER or would they take him in as an ex-Shinra employee who could give them insider info?"

Before Luxiere could respond, Kunsel's phone chirped loudly. He flipped the phone open to read the message.

"What's up?" Luxiere asked.

"Well, Lux," Kunsel said as he scanned the mail on the screen. "Apparently, two research specimens have escaped from Nibelheim. I think we've got confirmation on where Zack's been for the past four years."


End file.
